Evolution of a Food Revolution

In 2015, a passion for food education and a desire to be closer to family brought Jordyn Appel-Hughes to Wilmington from her native Michigan. The move marked the beginning of her journey to support area farmers and expand local food access initiatives.

Appel-Hughes arrived in Wilmington as part of an AmeriCorps-affiliated program called FoodCorps. Her role involved teaching children how to grow food and bringing farm and nutrition education into the classroom. Despite the challenges of living at the poverty line after three years of service with limited benefits, her commitment to the community remained unwavering.

“It was worth it because the community was just so special to me,” Appel-Hughes said of her time at Wrightsboro Elementary School. “I always call Wrightsboro my heart school because there were just such special teachers and students there.”

Her love for Wrightsboro and the community fueled her decision to stay, leading to a gradual rise through the ranks at Feast Down East (FDE), moving from Mobile Market manager to program director, deputy director and, eventually, executive director in April of 2022.

As executive director, her primary focus is to establish programs that help strengthen local food systems.

One of Appel-Hughes’ most significant contributions to FDE has been the design and launch of the Mobile Market, an initiative aimed at bringing affordable, locally-grown food directly to underserved communities.

Initially, the market operated at ten sites within Wilmington Housing Authority neighborhoods each week, a daunting task Appel-Hughes tackled single-handedly. Over time, the Mobile Market expanded its reach, serving residents of public housing, low-income neighborhoods, senior housing, medical clinics and after-school programs across several counties.

The Mobile Market is more than just a food distribution service, Appel-Hughes said, it’s a community builder. Open to the public, the market aims to bridge gaps in food access and equity, providing fresh, nutrient-dense local food at affordable prices. The market’s acceptance of food stamps and participation in the Double Up program – where if someone spends $5 in food stamps, the market provides them with an additional $5 to spend – further enhances customers’ ability to stretch their purchasing power.

The Mobile Market currently operates two routes reaching 16 to 20 sites, some weekly and others biweekly. The market has also established a Food RX Program in partnership with Novant Health. Novant physicians can provide patients with a food prescription voucher for $30 per month that can be used at the market without any restrictions.

“This provides purchasing power and autonomy to people, and that program has been wildly successful,” Appel-Hughes said. “It launched in October of last year, and we’re seeing over an 85% redemption rate on patients bringing their vouchers back each month.”

Beyond the mobile market, Appel-Hughes and her team support local farmers with education, workshops, crop planning, marketing assistance and a scholarship program to assist with operational infrastructure.

Many of the day-to-day operations at FDE are dependent upon the organization’s online marketplace, which tracks all the inventory for the Burgaw-based Food Hub and the Mobile Market.

Feast Down East’s Local Food Marketplace, an online ordering website, serves as a crucial tool for connecting local farmers with restaurants, grocery stores, institutions, and individuals. It enables transparency, allowing farmers to see where their produce is going and helping them with crop planning to maximize profitability. The marketplace also supports a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, offering members the opportunity to purchase fresh, local food with added flexibility for customization.

Local and statewide partnerships continue to play a vital role in Feast Down East’s success. FDE collaborates with various community groups to ensure that resources are shared rather than duplicated. This collaboration extends statewide via the North Carolina Food Hub Collaborative, through which food hubs across the state support one another, sharing resources, knowledge and guidance.

As Feast Down East continues to evolve, the organization remains committed to fueling a local food revolution.

To learn more about FDE’s upcoming events, including the Dec. 8 Oyster Roast Fundraiser featuring Rx Chicken and Oysters, click here to sign up for the FDE newsletter.